


Spy Games

by RedTeamShark



Series: With My Little Eye [4]
Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter/Funhaus RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Spies & Secret Agents, Implied Sexual Content, M/M, Mercenaries, Polyamory, Spies & Secret Agents, Trust Manipulation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-14
Updated: 2016-08-14
Packaged: 2018-07-29 13:02:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,031
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7685608
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RedTeamShark/pseuds/RedTeamShark
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Trust makes you vulnerable in so many ways. They trusted me, and I used them to the best of my ability for it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Spy Games

**Author's Note:**

> Direct counterpart to Mercy

It’s clear in their eyes that they trust me. That they let me in to their operation on the pretense that I belonged with them. It’s not about being useful (although I certainly am) to them, it’s not about having skills that will further their goals—our goals. People like that are a dime a dozen, as the expression goes.

People you can trust, however, are much rarer.

Trust is what puts us in the studio apartment together, the room with one bed and one couch; one table but three chairs. One laptop, one password to access it. Trust is what lets Ray and Ryan stay in bed, blissfully asleep while I get up and move about the small room as silent as a ghost, carefully dressing in casual clothes and leaving to rendezvous with a contact, to drop off information.

Their eyes fall on me when I come back, not because they’re suspicious of my absence but because they’re truly glad to see me. I offer smiles and shrugged explanations of my absence, holding up the large bag full of fast food and the cardboard trey of coffees—a peace offering for leaving the bed before them. Ray’s the first to forgive me, taking the bag and a coffee from me and settling at the table with it to dig through for breakfast. Ryan takes his coffee only after I sit down, one of his hands brushing mine, concern still in his eyes. It’s erased when Ray throws a wrapped breakfast sandwich at him, declaring that hot peppers are nasty and our older counterpart—the unofficial leader of our group—better brush his teeth before he demands any more kisses.

We sit at the table, eating breakfast sandwiches, drinking coffees, and laughing. No one asks where I’ve been, because they trust me. Even if they asked, they’d believe whatever bullshit answer I gave. Trust is such a rare commodity, worth more than gold in our industry.

Like gold, however, it’s malleable, easy to exploit and shape to my will. A murmured word here, a hesitant kiss there, a back turned away at just the right moment. I know all the games to play, when to employ the tactics… it’s all scheduled, every last move.

The only thing not planned is the return trust I feel for them, the comfortable way I close my eyes with my head in Ryan’s lap, lulled almost into sleep by his hand rubbing my back. It was never in the strategy that Ray’s mouth on my neck would make me arch my back and moan. Still, these are the things that happen, and there’s no changing them. There’s only adjusting my plans to use them to my advantage.

It’s not as if I’m the only one, either. Just the right scrape of my fingernails up Ryan’s back when he moves inside me and I’m fairly certain he forgets his own name. The right squeeze of my hand on Ray’s knee when he’s focused on a video game and all thoughts of the virtual world he’d been engrossed in are gone. If they’re going to be able to do things like that to me, it’s only fair that I return the favor. That’s another side of our trust, knowing that if in no other circumstances, we can let go completely around each other once the apartment is closed off from the outside world.

If there’s one thing that makes all this trust dangerous, it’s the very nature of it. Being trusted and trusting someone isn’t explicitly unpleasant. Knowing that when someone says “I got your back” they truly mean it… There’s a comfort factor in there that a million backrubs couldn’t replace. Understanding that someone really does rely on you, that they’re not waiting for you to plant a bullet in them, it’s erotic to me in a way that no sex has ever been. The trust is the entire reason I need to keep my guard up, need to keep my cover story on display at the front of my mind at all times. Unlike the two other members of 6, I don’t have the privilege of being able to forget everything. Even a slip of moments could be the end of me and everything I work for.

Right now, however, I can pretend like that’s not there. I can enjoy the feeling of Ryan’s hand rubbing my spine, stopping just before the small of my back, where the blankets on our bed are pooled. I can feel the warmth of Ray’s breath against my chest, his face all youth and innocence while he sleeps, curled up tight to me. It’s easier to pretend when they’re both asleep, but Ryan doesn’t know I’m awake yet so that’s still okay. Pretty soon his hand will delve beneath the blankets and I’ll be ‘awakened’ by him grabbing my ass. Not an entirely unpleasant morning, at that.

I’d come back late the previous night, offering no explanation of my disappearance and not being asked. Ray’s suspicious gaze had dried up immediately when I’d commented on the new game he was playing, and while I felt Ryan watching me all evening, the way his hand is on me now is enough to assure me that he’s come to a conclusion—a conclusion that works in my favor. They’d filled me in on information I already knew, telling me about the failures of the last several hacking attempts. I listened with a sympathetic look, pulling Ray into my lap and stroking his hair, assuring him that I’d make sure we got something good next time. And I will.

Ryan’s hand delves beneath the blanket, settling on my hip and tugging, making me turn to lie on my back. I look over to him with a sleepy smile, following his movements as he climbs on top of me. Instinctively, my legs lift to wrap around his waist, stopping short when his hands press down on my shoulders.

“Ryan, what—“

On my side, Ray is sitting up in a flash, and real panic goes through me. The trust that I’d been manipulating, had they lost it? Was I busted? I focus on the fear, amplify it inside myself until it’s showing in my eyes—fear and hurt and betrayal that I’d be held down against my will like this.

“You know what.” Ryan leans in, breath warm on my ear, voice barely above a whisper. “Disappearing on us for two weeks and then walking in here with no explanation, like nothing happened. We thought you were _dead_.”

Oh. _Oh_. I screw my face up in concern, slowly lifting a hand to stroke it along one of Ryan’s stubbled cheeks. Ray is still sitting next to me, frowning down at me and I look to him, reaching over and grasping his hand with my other hand. “I’m sorry…” I whisper, forcing my younger cohort to lean in to hear me. “I didn’t think you’d… want to be concerned with it.” My voice is as close to genuinely regretful as I can force it to be, and inside I’m praying it works on them.

The ice in Ryan’s eyes melts, his hands loosening on my shoulders. One slides down my arm, following the path up my limb to his face, settling over my hand there. “If you’re having problems, Gavin…” He begins, lacing his fingers with mine and lowering our hands. I swallow, looking away from him. “Just tell us. We can help.”

He thinks the averted gaze is guilt, but it’s not. I run over the multiple scenarios to explain my disappearances, latching on to one that I know they’ll never be able to verify. After all, what spy uses his real name, even with his closest allies? For all they think, Gavin Free is just a bunch of forged documents.

I keep my gaze away, swallowing again and clearing my throat, feeling Ray’s fingers wrap with mine on my other hand. Once they’re linked I speak, my voice just thick enough with emotion to excuse any hesitance. “My sister… car accident… I found out and even though I can’t… can’t go back, I still had to… you know.” Giving up your personal life is part of it all, becoming an unperson so you can do your job. Above me, Ryan inhales sharply, and Ray’s fingers tighten with mine.

“Jesus, Gavin, I’m sorry…” He starts to speak, but I cut him off with a squeeze of my hand.

“It’s alright, Ray. I did what I had to do. I’m sorry for not telling you, but… well, I didn’t want to worry you two. No one saw me, I’m sure of it. Our cover is still safe.” I sit up slowly, leaning over to plant a kiss at the corner of Ray’s mouth, making sure Ryan gets the same treatment.

It’s quiet for a while, the three of us in bed, me still pinned under Ryan’s hips. Finally, I arch my back slightly, pressing into him and lifting an eyebrow. “So, as long as we’re here…”

I’m not surprised that they don’t need any more prompting than that.

–

When we get around to getting out of bed for the second time that day, Ray checks his computer while Ryan and I make breakfast. The silence in the studio is comfortable, broken only by the sounds of Ray tapping on the keyboard and bacon frying in the pan. I’m just pouring a second cup of coffee when my dark-haired accomplice speaks up. “We’ve got another info drop scheduled for tonight, Gav.” He looks over his shoulder, meeting my eyes over our coffee cups. “You up for it?”

“I need some work.” I agree, smiling and bringing him a plate of bacon and eggs. “What do you have on it so far?”

“We’re re-hitting a place we tried for last week.” Ray taps a few keys, pulling up maps for me to look over as he begins to eat. “These fuckin’ Hunters guys are crawling all over the place lately… They’re the ones that stopped us the last few times. Keep resetting the goddamn terminals. Makes it hard to beep boop bop, you know?” I can’t even roll my eyes at Ray’s comment, instead looking at the maps.

“Yeah, I think we can manage this.” I point to a few spots near the terminals, grinning. “Blind spots here, here, and here. Whoever’s guarding it will need a man at each corner, and who can afford that, right? You have a lot more details on this place than usual, Ray.”

“We were there last week.” Ryan cuts in, pulling a chair over from the table to join us. “Those Hunters, the mercenaries, they had four guys. How many did they have the first time we ran into them?”

“Three.” I answer immediately, tapping my chin with a fingertip. “We got away with it the first time. Maybe they added someone new to try to keep up?”

“Well, between them being up one and us being down one, we’ve been fucked without you, Gavin. And not in the fun way.” Ryan’s clearly annoyed by the circumstances and I reach over, patting his shoulder.

“Don’t worry. I’m back, I’m on my game, and I’ll make sure that we get what we need.”

“I just hope the data doesn’t corrupt this time…” Ray pushes his chair away from the desk, turning to face us. “I spent days going over that after it happened, and I still can’t figure it out. Corrupted data has _never_ been a problem before.” He runs a hand through his hair, sighing in frustration. “I feel like I’m missing some big, stupid clue that’s right in front of me. Like I’m too fuckin’ blind to see it.”

“Nah, Ray.” I assure him quickly, grinning widely. “There’s no way you’d miss something obvious.”

Trust is a funny thing. They trust me and don’t hesitate to believe me, even when I’m constantly spewing lies. It never once occurs to them that every word that leaves my lips is another part of an elaborately planned game. A game in which they’re just pawns to be used and disposed of.


End file.
